Extended Practice Game Play Mechanics and Collectibles Research: Tomb Raider

The next game that I wanted to look at is actually the first three games in the tomb raider series as these really set the bar high for the next generation of gamers to come. The legend of Tomb Raider is one that lingers over most games as it was so brilliantly thought out when it came to most elements. It was just an all round brilliant game, inspiring me to look at it for a number of reasons, like the fact that it is set all around the world, the fact that it is great fun to play but mostly that it had a brilliant mechanic system in place that just worked so well.

The games in the series that I mainly wanted to look at where the first three games, and this may branch into the fourth and the fifth as they did use the same ideas but they were just starting to loose there touch by that point. The first few games in the series stood apart from most games creating interesting scenarios for this billionaire turned explorer to explore. The levels themselves are fairly large and you usually have to do a fair bit of exploration before you can be confident on the right way to go.

The general movement is difficult to get used to as it works in a grid format that can obviously be seen in the floor titles, especially in water. But this actually aids the player as the mechanics that she has can be operated within these tiles. For instance, when you walk Lara will not fall off any edges, she will stop that means you are right at the edge of a grid, this means that if you have a running jump to make you can line it up completely; the best way to do this is to shuffle to the left or right to get it in line. You can the leap backwards one grid square as this is the minimum amount of room you need to be able to perform the running jump. Then you run, jump and hold down the grab button so that she can grab the ledge of the next platform if need be. Little things like this just make this game very special to me, and the fact that the grid system is there only helps you reach all the platforms that you need to access. There are also the addition to lots of other mechanics in the games that have all been mapped out onto certain buttons, like the button that activates your flare, or the one that if your hanging from a ledge you can pull Lara up, make her do a handstand and then do a gymnastic roll to be stood upright again, a beautiful little feature that just makes the game more personal, and make the mechanics that little bit more special.

Lastly I wanted to look a the collectibles in the game, and this is probably the worst part to the games. Although there is the ever fleeting need to find all of the secret locations and collect every different type of weapon to ease your way through the game, the collectibles aren't that special, but do not detract from the game in any way, merely just show that it doesn't need them to be as superb as it is.